Lyddie

Acknowledgement page for the Lyddie Books to Parks project

Thirteen-year-old Lyddie Worthen lives on a small farm in Vermont with her mother, younger brother Charlie, and two younger sisters, Rachel and Agnes.

As Lyddie and Charlie are preparing to leave the farm, they decide to sell their young calf. They hope to eventually save enough money to clear the family’s debt and return home.

When she arrives at the tavern, Lyddie stands outside and thinks about the direction her life has taken. Her thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of a stagecoach. Passengers, including a well-dressed white man and woman, exit the coach.

Lyddie is determined to gain the respect of the staff and is able to do so when she becomes friends with Triphena, the cook at Cutler’s Tavern.

When Mistress Cutler takes a trip to Boston to sell her maple products, Lyddie and the rest of the tavern staff are left with some free time. Triphena, who says she’s in charge in the mistress’ absence, gives Lyddie permission to visit home for the night.

The Black man in Lyddie’s cabin introduces himself as Ezekial. He had been enslaved in the South and is making his way to Canada.

Before Lyddie leaves for the Lowell mills, Triphena gives her a new pair of boots and five dollars to pay for a stagecoach ride. Lyddie soon finds her feet tired and sore and realizes walking all the way to Lowell isn’t possible. She stops at a tavern and works for the tavern owner in exchange for a room until the stagecoach arrives.

Lyddie wakes up the next day to the life of a mill girl. It is very noisy in the boardinghouse and in Lyddie’s attic room, which she shares with five other girls.

When Lyddie arrives in the weave room, she is overcome by the noise and the constant movement of the machines. The noise of the looms is so deafening that she can’t hear a word her new overseer says. One of the older girls, Diana, comes to Lyddie’s rescue and teaches her how to operate the loom, and the two of them become friends.